At least the House got this done. The House voted unanimously on Wednesday to restore death benefits for military families that have been delayed in the shutdown. Next up, the bill will go to the Senate. The families of five soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan over the weekend were denied the $100,000 death gratuity until the government reopened. White House press secretary Jay Carney says that President Obama was “disturbed” to learn of the problem and ordered a solution. Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner says Congress gave the Pentagon authority to continue payments in a law signed into action before the shutdown—but Carney says that law did not explicitly address death.
